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Herpetofauna of a northern Australian monsoon rain forest: seasonal changes and relationships to adjacent habitats

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

K. C. Martin  and
W. J. Freeland
K. C. Martin
Affiliation:
Conservation Commission of the Northern Territory, PO Box 38496, Winnellie, Northern Territory 5789, Australia
W. J. Freeland
Affiliation:
Conservation Commission of the Northern Territory, PO Box 38496, Winnellie, Northern Territory 5789, Australia
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Abstract

The herpetofauna of a floodplain monsoon rain forest in northern Australia is composed primarily of species from non rain forest habitats. The majority of frog species use rain forest as a seasonal refuge, and there is a marked increase in numbers during the dry season. Faunal richness lies within limits expected on the basis of the length of the dry season and species richnesses of non-Australian faunas. There are few lizard species and an abundance of frog species (none of which is a rain forest specialist) in comparison to rain forest herpetofaunas in other tropical regions. The impoverished lizard fauna, and the paucity of rain forest specialists may be because (a) seasonal invasion of rain forest by frogs prevents evolution of, or colonization by, specialists or (b) rain forest specialists may not have been able to cross semiarid habitats separating the Northern Territory from eastern Australian rain forests. The herpetofaunas of monsoon forests in Cape York Peninsula may provide a means of distinguishing between these hypotheses.

Keywords

Australiadry seasonfrogsherpetofaunalizardsrain forestrefugiaspecies richness
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 4 , Issue 3 , August 1988 , pp. 227 - 238
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

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